Beginnings of the Walker Brothers Financial Empire

Beginnings of the Walker Brothers Financial Empire. . , This is the site of the first Walker Brothers store and bank. Samuel Sharp Walker, Joseph Robinson Walker, David Frederick Walker, and Matthew Henry Walker immigrated from England with their family in 1850. After spending a bit of time in St. Louis, they made their way to Utah in 1852. They found employment as clerks and errand runners for merchant William Nixon who had stores and supply operations in Salt Lake City, Fairfield, and other towns around Utah. , The brothers launched their own store in Fairfield in 1859 when they obtained a wagon load of surplus goods on credit. The brothers sold the merchandise to soldiers stationed at Camp Floyd at a huge profit and successfully launched their business The first year the store was open, the brothers purchased a safe from a passing wagon train. It was the only safe in Fairfield. The youngest Walker brother, Matt, age 14, oversaw the storage of bags of gold dust, money, and other valuables in the strongbox. He soon expanded his services to include full-blown banking operations , Pennies On the Dollar , When Camp Floyd closed in 1861, the Walkers bought the camp's surplus bacon, shovels, fence, rails, rifles, horses, and other goods, for pennies on the dollar. They sold these items at a premium. Some sources credit the Walker Brothers for creating the first army surplus store in the nation. , The brothers' success allowed them to fund mining, hotel building and political interests and to transform their bank into one of the largest financial institutions in the western states. , The Walker Brothers Store and Bank remained in operation in Fairfield through 1865. Other businesses used the building over time. City officials demolished the abandoned structure in 1939. , The Walker Brothers' brand is found on artifacts from gold dust sacks to hobnail boots to pickaxes to bourbon bottles. , Captions , Drawing of Walker Brothers original store. Fairfield, Utah 1859. Courtesy of Utah State Historical Society. , Walker Brothers advertisement. Deseret News, 1860 , Walker Brothers gold dust sacks, tags, hobnails boots, pickaxe heads, and bourbon bottle images courtesy of Roger Terry. , Advertisement for the Walker Brothers stores, Deseret News, 1865 , Camp Floyd State Park Museum